Literacy and First Graders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Literacy and First Graders - Essay Example Looking at literacy and reading readiness at the academic and scholastic level, it is much easier to see the current issues and concerns in literature. Pre-reading skills are already considered to be of the most important in children learning to read quickly and successfully. These skills include, but are not limited to sight awareness of letters and common words, phonemic awareness, basic comprehension, writing skills, vocabulary, and word attack skills. Sight awareness suggests that children can fully recognize all letters in both lower and uppercase forms, and are able to recognize simple and common words (the, at, apple) regularly, with no assistance. This is perhaps the most crucial of all pre-reading skills, since children use this base to build vocabulary. Phonemic awareness is a child's understanding of what sounds a letter or a pair of letters makes, and how it can change from situation to situation. This recognition makes it possible for children to link a written and a spoken word in their mind. Basic comprehension deals with a child understanding what they have read or had read to them, and able to discuss what they hav e just read or heard. Basic comprehension skills are essential for successful readers, since it is not the ability to read a word, rather the ability to understand the word that is being tested. Writing skills are considered pre-reading skills, since they help children develop a physical understanding of how words are formed, and how letters are formed. Along with basic comprehension, writing is used to determine a child's literacy rate, rather than necessarily improve their ability to read. While increased reading has been proven to improve writing skills, there have been no recent studies suggesting that the opposite is true. Vocabulary is the words that a child knows, which help them to decode words that they are unfamiliar with. The greater a child's vocabulary, the greater chance they have of being successful in understanding a new word or idea. Vocabulary is built both through successful reading skills, and through comprehension of stories both read by the child and read to th e child. Finally, word attack skills are the child's ability to look at a word and to successfully decipher its' meaning, in the context in which it has been presented. The more willing to attack a word a child is, the greater chance they have of succeeding. These skills are all necessary pre-reading skills, and are presented in Tivnan and Hemphill's 2005 study of literacy programs in high poverty areas. By looking at children from high poverty areas, and from minority groups, it is clear that literacy is still a primary concern for the educational community. Children from low socioeconomic classes, particularly those from minority families, are at risk for developing poor literacy skills. These children enter school with less early literacy training, and are more likely to leave elementary school with an inadequate ability to read (Tivnan and Hemphill, 2005). Clearly, early introduction to pre-reading skills and literacy campaigns makes a significant difference in children's ability to excel at the reading task. Children from poor

Historiographical perspectives of the Cold War Essay

Historiographical perspectives of the Cold War - Essay Example While the explanations of the origins of the conflict in academic discussions are complex and diverse, several general schools of thought on the subject can be identified. Historians commonly speak of three differing approaches to the study of the Cold War: "orthodox" accounts, "revisionism," and "post-revisionism." Nevertheless, much of the historiography on the Cold War weaves together two or even all three of these broad categories. The first school of interpretation to emerge in the U.S. was "orthodox". For more than a decade after the end of the Second World War, few U.S. historians challenged the official U.S. interpretation of the beginnings of the Cold War. This "orthodox" school places the responsibility for the Cold War on the Soviet Union and its expansion into Eastern Europe. Thomas A. Bailey, for example, argued in his 1950 America Faces Russia that the breakdown of postwar peace was the result of Soviet expansionism in the immediate postwar years. Bailey argued Stalin violated promises he had made at Yalta, imposed Soviet-dominated regimes on unwilling Eastern European populations, and conspired to spread communism throughout the world. From this view, U.S. officials were forced to respond to Soviet aggression with the Truman Doctrine, plans to contain communist subversion around the world, and the Marshall Plan. U.S. involvement in Vietnam in the 1960s disillusioned many historians with the premises of "containment", and thus with the assumptions of the "orthodox" approach to understanding the Cold War. "Revisionist" accounts emerged in the wake of the Vietnam War, in the context of a larger rethinking of the U.S. role in international affairs, which was seen more in terms of American empire or hegemony. While the new school of thought spanned many differences among individual scholars, the works comprising it were generally responses in one way or another to Williams' Apple man landmark 1959 volume, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy. Williams challenged the long-held assumptions of "orthodox" accounts, arguing that Americans had always been an empire-building people, even while American leaders denied it. Following Williams, "revisionist" writers placed more responsibility for the breakdown of postwar peace on the United States, citing a range of U.S. efforts to isolate and confront the Soviet Union well before the end of World War II. According to Williams and later "revisionist" writers, U.S. policymakers shared an overarching concern with maintaining capitalism domestically. In order to achieve that objective, they pursued an "open door" policy abroad, aimed at increasing access to foreign markets for U.S. business and agriculture. From this perspective, a growing economy domestically went hand-in-hand with the consolidation of U.S. power internationally. "Revisionist" scholars challenged the widely accepted notion that Soviet leaders were committed to postwar "expansionism". They cited evidence that the Soviet Union's occupation of Eastern Europe had a defensive rationale, and that Soviet leaders saw themselves as attempting to avoid encirclement by the United States and its allies. In this view, the Soviet Union was so weak and devastated after the end of the Second World War as to be unable to pose any serious threat to the United States; moreover,

Environmental Degradation Essay Example for Free

Environmental Degradation Essay The deterioration of the environment by natural or human forces is known as environmental degradation. Natural happenings like heavy rain, floods, storms, earthquakes, volcanoes etc. are not under human control and they play havoc with environment time to time by making the land unfit lor cultivation. Here man is helpless. He can do nothing except to see the havoc. But when man himself plays a vital role in degrading the environment in which he lives, and then the problem becomes more serious. Needless to say that environmental degradation is one of the major global issues. The overuse of resources is it land or water and the industrialisation process are the major causes of this phenomenon. Man has been felling the tress for his various purposes. He never minds if this process goes on without check it will lead to soil erosion, floods, silting of irrigation canals and cultivated lands, which finally degrade our environment. Our population is increasing fast, which has also degraded the environment to a great extent. Mans insatiable needs and distress have disturbed the whole environmental equilibrium. The race of armament among countries is no less responsible for this global issue. Apart from these our industries emit smoke and discharge liquids including polluted water. The smoke contains many undesirable gases such as carbon monoxide and sulpher dioxide. All borne particles in solid, liquids and gaseous form. The pollution in atmosphere has tendency to form their layers and sinks in atmosphere. The chlorofluorocarbons which come from aerosol sprays nuclear weapons, refrigerators etc., have caused a hole in the ozone layer of atmosphere. This hole is allowing increased amount of ultraviolet radiation reaching our earth. The above mentioned factors have really degraded the environment and if ways to check it are not applied we will have face serious consequences. We must put an end to our ir satiable needs and desires. There must not be indiscriminate cutting of trees because it will lead to ecological imbalances. Instead, we should know the value of tree plantation and should plant trees as many as we can in our surrounding area. Next, our ever growing population must be checked because it puts an extra burden .on our natural resources. Last but not the least, factories should not be allowed to emit large quantities of harmful effluents into air through their chimneys. They should discharge them into the rivers aid other water bodies because this dirty water can be treated aid recycled to be used again. Our environment must be protected by all means. We must realise the fact that so long environment is there, our life is there. The day, when there is no environment, there will be a complete doom.

Human Rights Violations by the Armed Forces

Human Rights Violations by the Armed Forces CHAPTER IV: ALLEGED HR VIOLATIONS BY THE ARMED FORCES IN NE INDIA Fundamental violations of human rights always lead to people feeling less and less human. San Suu Kyi India’s CI ops in the NE have allegedly resulted in widespread HR violations including, torture, forced disappearances, extra-judicial killing, rape, detention without trial, and harsh restrictions on freedom of assembly, movement and expression. Human rights abuses have been invariably now linked with the AFSPA, 1958, which was enacted in response to the Naga insurgency movement in then Assam State and union territory of Manipur. Between 2005 and 2008, the number of security troops killed in the northeast declined from 71 to 46 per year. In that same period, the ACHR notes an increase in the number of reported civilian deaths (1666) in the region.[1] As per media reports, out of those killed very few died in combat with armed forces. Instead most were killed in ‘fake encounters’ where in an individual is usually picked-up by police or armed forces and later his dead body is found at a secluded location, in rebel uniform and planted with a forbidden weapon and some unregistered (illegal) SIM cards. In February 2012, two judges of the Supreme Court, intervening in a case where the Central Bureau of Investigation was seeking to prosecute army officers accused of murdering five villagers in Jammu Kashmir, in what is known as the Pathribal incident, declared clearly that AFSPA’s protection was limited to acts conducted in the line of duty. â€Å"You go to a place in exercise of AFSPA, you commit rape, you commit murder, then where is the question of sanction? It is a normal crime which needs to be prosecuted, and that is our stand,† declared the bench of Justices Swatanter Kumar and B.S. Chauhan.[2] Thangjam Manamora Devi On 10 Jul 04, a 29 yr old Manipuri woman named Thangjam Manorama Devi was allegedly picked up from her residence by the troops of 17th Assam Rifles. The next morning her bullet ridden body was found in the field at a short distance from her residence. The autopsy of her corpse suggested rape and murder. Assam Rifles claimed that she was shot for her attempt to escape. Post the incident an inquiry commission was set up by the Manipur Govt. The commission submitted its report in Nov 2004, but the Guwahati High Court ruled that the State Govt has no jurisdiction over the Assam Rifles because of its deployment under AFSPA.[3] The Assam Rifles, for its part, has refused to cooperate with the Judicial Commission instituted by the Ibobi Singh Govt to probe the circumstances that led to Manoramas death. It moved the Guwahati High Court and obtained an interim stay on the summoning of its personnel by the commission. Col. Jag Mohan, Commandant of 17 Assam Rifles, requested the commission to set aside the proceedings against Assam Rifles personnel since a petition had been filed in the Guwahati High Court. The Assam Rifles petition in the High Court said that the commission has been summoning persons who do not come under its jurisdiction. In the past, some judicial inquiry commissions had to be wound up on technical grounds. Under the AFSPA, no prosecution process can be initiated against personnel of the Central forces without first obtaining the Centres approval. The Assam Rifles moved the High Court certainly not without the prior sanction of both the Home and Defence Ministries. Quoting the first post-mortem report of Manorama, Assam Rifles denied the charge of rape of her by its personnel.[4] Mr Colin Gonsalves, a senior advocate of the Supreme Court has stated that â€Å" Not only man on the street, but even judges have been arbitrarily picked up, detained and tortured by the men in uniform deriving unlimited and unaccounted powers from the Armed forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. If the judiciary cannot protect itself, how can it do justice to the people of Manipur†.[5] Guwahati High Court ruled for the submission of report of Inquiry commission constituted by State Govt to the Home ministry and since then this report has not been made public. This shocking incident resulted in wide scale unprecedented protests throughout the state. Anger and anguish among the locals reached such a level where a group of middle aged women stripped naked outside the headquarters of Assam Rifles and shouted slogans ‘ Indian Army Rape Us’. In order to reach out to the feelings of Manipuri people then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh promised the people of Manipur to review the AFSPA.[6] Irom Chanu Sharmila Irom Sharmila is a 42 years old woman from Manipur who is also referred to as ‘The Iron Lady of Manipur’ for her hunger strike which she started on 2 Nov 2000. She has been called â€Å"the world’s longest hunger striker† for having refused food and water for more than 14 years. On 2 Nov 2000, ten civilians were allegedly killed by the armed forces operating in the state under AFSPA at Malom town in the Imphal valley. Protesting the ‘Malom Massacre’ Sharmila started her unending hunger strike which is continued till date. Her main demand to the central Govt is complete repeal of AFSPA which has been perceived by the local Manipuri people as the root cause of the HR violations by the armed forces.[7] Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee. As mentioned above, during the visit of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to Manipur in 2004, he promised the people to consider the review of AFSPA. Thereafter a committee was constituted by the Central Govt, under the chairmanship of Justice (Retired) BP Jeevan Reddy, on 19 Nov 04 to recommend either changes in the present act or to replace the AFSPA in present form with a more humane act. The committee also included four other members. During the course of its work, the committee members met several individuals, organisations, parties, institutions and NGOs, which resulted in the report stating that the Act, for whatever reason, has become a symbol of oppression, an object of hate and an instrument of discrimination and high handedness. The report clearly stated that It is highly desirable and advisable to repeal the Act altogether, without of course, losing sight of the overwhelming desire of an overwhelming majority of the [North East] region that the Army should remain (though the Act should go).[8] The committee submitted its report to the Central Govt in August 2005. The Govt has not yet decided on the recommendations proposed by the committee. Some of the important recommendations of the committee are as follows[9]:- (a) AFSPA should be repealed. The Act is too sketchy, too bald and quite inadequate in several particulars. (b) Insertion of appropriate provisions in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (as amended in the year 2004) would be more appropriate, instead of suggesting a new piece of legislation. Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 as amended in 2004 by the Parliament should be the only law to deal with all kinds of internal security problems including the threats of insurgency and terrorism. (c) A chapter needs to be added to facilitate employment of armed forces in the present Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 as amended in 2004. The draft chapter has also been included in report of the Reddy committee as compatible to the constitutional principles. Justice Santosh Hegde Committee The Supreme Court of India by its order dated 4th Jan 2013 appointed Justice Santosh Hegde commission with directions to make thorough inquiry in the first six cases detailed in ‘Compilation –I’ filed by the writ petitioners in WP (Crl) No.129 of 2012, with further directions to the commission to record a finding regarding the past antecedents of the victims and the circumstances in which they were killed.[10] The Apex Court further directed the commission to report regarding the functioning of State Police and Security Forces and if necessary the commission was mandated to make recommendations for keeping the police and the security forces within the legal bounds without compromising the fight against insurgency.[11] The specific cases which were enquired by the commission are as per the details given below[12]:- After carrying out the detailed inquiry in respect of all six case the Justice Santosh Hegde Commission submitted its report on 30 Mar 13. Following are the highlights of the recommendations proposed by the commission[13]:- (a) The six cases which were inquired by the commission were egregious examples of AFSPA’s gross abuse. (b) With a burgeoning, restive and youthful population only proactive inclusive governance can hope for some stability. (c) Commission was in respectful agreement with the finding of Justice Jeevan Reddy committee that AFSPA has become â€Å"a symbol of oppression, an object of hate and instrument of discrimination and high headedness†. (d) It is time to progressively de-notify more areas of the Manipur State under section 3 of AFSPA. If at any stage of the de-notification there is a serious and continued regression in the law and order situation, it should be open to the appropriate Govt to reconsider the options available to it. (e) The Do’s and Don’ts, laid down by the Supreme Court during its 1997 verdict, may be given statutory status. (f) A sensitive, proactive and responsive administration will go long way in normalizing the situation and winning the confidence of the people. (g) All cases of encounters resulting in death are reviewed once in three months by a committee chaired by the Head of the State Human Rights Commission with Principal Secretary Home and DG of the state as members. (h) Central Govt be given a reasonable time to pass order under Section 6 of AFSPA, preferably within three months from the date of its receipt of the request of the prosecution, failing which its sanction will be presumed. Conclusion Apart from the cases of HR violations discussed above, there are many other cases some of which are not even reported. These HR violations clearly show the undesired consequences of employing the Armed Forces for the task which under the normal circumstances should have been undertaken by the state law enforcing agencies. When the Armed Forces are deployed for prolonged duration for maintenance of public order, there is ample possibility of certain member from the forces seeking advantage of the power and position to harass or trample upon the rights of the local people. Hence the act needs to be analysed in detail to ascertain the availability of suitable checks and balances to prevent the appalling HR violations by the Armed Forces. Footnotes [1] Lierde Van Frank, We, Widows of the Gun, A joint publication from Manipuri NGO’s Women in Governance (WinG), the Gun Victims Survivors Association (GVSA), Human Rights Alert (HRA), the Extrajudicial Execution Victims Families Manipur (EEVFAM) and the Dutch international development organization Cordaid, 2011, p-13. [2] An abomination called AFSPA, The Hindu 12 Feb 2013, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/an-abomination-called-afspa/article4405641.ece accessed on 15 Nov 14. [3] Thangjam Manorama, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thangjam_Manorama accessed on 15 Nov 14. [4] Talukdar Sushanta, Manipur on fire, Frontline Aug28-Sep10,2004, http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2118/stories/20040910007400400.htm accessed on 16 Nov 14. [5] The Murder of Manorama, http://www.unipune.ac.in/snc/cssh/HumanRights/02 STATE AND ARMY POLICE REPRESSION/B Assam and the north east/11.pdf accessed on 15 Nov 14. [6] Dr. Manmohan Singh was amiable with Manipur leaders, assured to amend armed forces special powers law with a new humane law, Asian Tribune, 01 Nov 04, http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2004/11/01/dr-manmohan-singh-was-amiable-manipur-leaders-assured-amend-armed-forces-special-pow accessed on 15 Nov 14. [7] Irom Chanu Sharmila, Wikipedia, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irom_Chanu_Sharmila accessed on 15 Nov 14. [8] Justice(Retd) BP Jeevan Reddy Committee’s Report, 6 Jun 05. [9] Ibid. [10] Report of Supreme Court Appointed Justice Santosh Hegde Commission, P-1. [11] Ibid [12] Ibid, P- 4,5. [13] Ibid, P- 95-104.

The Vietnam War Essay -- Vietnam War Essays

There were many events that lead up the Vietnam War, it started in 1945 with the hostilities between the French and Vietminh. â€Å"Geopolitical Strategy, economics, domestic US politics, and cultural arrogance shaped the growing American involvement in Vietnam† (Anderson 1). As a matter of fact, the Vietnam War was several wars, but it was not until 1962 that America had their first combat mission, however, Americans were killed during ambushes by the Vietnamese before the first combat mission. There is much controversy over the reasons for the Vietnam War, supported by the several different books and articles written about the war. â€Å"The most famous atrocity occurred in a tiny hamlet called My Lai in March 1968† (Detzer 127). History shows that the reaction of many Americans to the attack by US soldiers on the village of My Lai during the Vietnam War was opposition, and the actions of the US soldiers during the My Lai Massacre will be forever remembered as a sign ificant part of the Vietnam War and American History. During the Vietnam War, the first platoon (approximately forty men) was lead by a young officer named William Calley. Young Calley was drafted into the US Army after high school, but it did not take long for him to adjust to being in the army, with a quick transition to the lifestyle of the military, he wanted to make it his career. In high school, Calley was a kind, likable and â€Å"regular† high school student, he seemed to be a normal teenager, having interest in things that other boys his age typically had. He was never observed acting in a cruel or brutal way. In Vietnam, Calley was under direct order of company commander, Captain Ernest Medina, whom he saw as a role model, he looked up to Medina. (Detzer 127). Histor... ...nd innocent villagers of My Lai, it was a time when American’s questioned their own as being â€Å"bad guys† or â€Å"good guys†. Were America’s tortuous and cruel acts to be considered patriotic or dishonorable? Some Americans, with bitter feelings for all the American lives lost in the Vietnam War, gave credit to Lieutenant Calley for leading troops in participating in such an atrocious event. History shows that there is still much debate on some facts of the massacre and many stories and opinions, although we will never know the facts exactly, what we do know is that America will never forget this tragic event, it will be talked about in American History for many years to come, and the Vietminh hearts will always fill with sadness when they think of the many lives that were lost on that tragic day in history, their minds will always have unspeakable memories of that day.

Wakefield Essay -- Literary Analysis, Hawthorne

What Was He Thinking? What would you think of a man who left his family, moved over to the next street to watch their lives unfold, and then returned after twenty years as if nothing had happened? What could drive a man to such bizarre behavior? These are the issues that Nathaniel Hawthorne deals with in the story of Mr. Wakefield. The very idea that a man could possibly do such a thing makes the audience want to understand his intentions. It is hard for a modern audience to make sense of such a story because television shows and movies have made today’s society focus so much on easily apparent themes or morals. Hawthorne used this story to examine society’s motivations. In his short story â€Å"Wakefield,† it is necessary that Hawthorne uses the narrator as a tool to shed light on Mr. Wakefield’s motives as well as to emphasize the story’s theme, that an individual can only appreciate and understand his life by looking in on it from the outside. In Hawthorne’s â€Å"Wakefield† the narrator’s thoughts and comments bring insight into the motivations of the character of the story. The story includes a long introduction in which the narrator, Hawthorne, describes how he heard the curious story of Mr. Wakefield. Hawthorne supplies his audience with a condensed version of the entire plot of the story. With this introduction, Hawthorne has already informed the audience of the story’s intriguing plot and this intensifies the audience’s desire to find out Mr. Wakefield’s motivations because they cannot comprehend why he would do such a thing. The audience will try to make sense of Mr. Wakefield’s actions, but they will not find a logical explanation. The story may seem unreal but the reader must take the story as it is and focus on the charact... ..., would argue that Hawthorne was showing his modernism by writing about the strange habits of human nature. Others, such as Morsberger would argue that the story of Wakefield simply mirrors many of Hawthorne’s other works. I do not disagree with either viewpoint, but I feel that Hawthorne simply wanted to create an intriguing story that dealt with people’s motivations. I would argue that he wrote this story to examine a side of human nature that is often forgotten or intentionally left out of a large portion of literature. Hawthorne is able to place the reader within the mind of Mr. Wakefield through his unique approach to story-telling. The result is a fascinating look into the mind of a very interesting character. Hawthorne has done such a wonderful job of luring in the reader that it takes only a few minutes to read â€Å"Wakefield,† but you will never forget it.

Your MBA classmates

Describe yourself to your MBA classmates. (You may use any method to convey your message: words, illustrations, etc. ) I grew up in a small fishing village in Maine, surrounded by family. Expectations and aspirations are limited in such an environment. I could have made a living exploiting the sea, but chose to do similar work as a corporate executive. Although I have no siblings, my hometown contains over fifty family members, and our agenda of family activities is always packed.Most of my family is employed in the commercial fishing ndustry, which instilled in me at a very young age, the concept of work. At age eleven, I started babysitting and mowing lawns, and at the age of fifteen I applied for my lobster license. The first summer with my license, I took a Job as a sternperson with a fellow female. We were the only two females out there, which was definitely an experience. When the lobstering season ended that year, I took a Job at a grocery store bagging groceries.I saved enoug h money to build a boat and to buy fifty lobster traps; I was on my way. The following summer I continued to work as a sternperson, and I also fished my own traps. I continued lobstering throughout the rest of high school and college, and It helped me finance my college education. In addition to being ambitious and motivated enough to put my heart Into even mundane, low-level tasks, I am also extremely organized. This Is one characteristic that has always received praise. I pay particular attention to detail, which I believe has contributed to my success thus far.I take pride In my work, and I look at It as a epresentation of myself. In my position at Sanford Bernstein as a Consultant Liaison, I market my firm to the financial consulting community. Maintaining the Integrity of the firm Is vital and errors are disastrous. When training new group members, I stress this point most thoroughly. I work In a group that currently has six members. The group serves as a central source of Info rmation for the firm, and Its success relies on an extraordinary amount of cooperation from each of us.As a senior member, I am able to contribute to the roup In several wap Including: training group members, controlling the quality of the group's output, managing and accurately completing multiple requests with short turnaround times, gathering and conveying Information from senior Investment professionals, collecting and calculating data, malntalnlng databases, overseeing projects aimed at making long-term Improvements to the group's processes, and strengthening my own foundation of knowledge to be used as a resource.Recently, as the result of a manager leaving the firm, I have also taken on some of the anagerial responslbllltles for the group Including prlorltlzlng and delegating assignments. Though I am an excellent team player, In business school I would Ilke to sharpen my appearance in order to get my point across.I hope to improve my negotiating skills and to gain more experi ence in getting group members to carry their own weight. At the same time, I do not want to become a tyrant. To be effective, it is important for a manager to maintain the proper balance of power and compassion. Only in this way, will I be able to lead a team of people to realizing the goals of a firm.